Grass-roots strategy for salmon

Hoping to sway the outcome of a pending federal
recovery plan for Snake River salmon, 45 environmental and fishing
groups have come up with a plan of their own. The groups, all
members of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, recently presented
their 45-page recommendation, Wild Salmon Forever, to the National
Marine Fisheries Service. It calls for eliminating grazing's impact
on fish habitat, regulating farming and mining sources of pollution
more strictly, and adopting watershed-friendly logging practices.
The report also suggests some far-reaching dam reform measures,
including a ban on new dams within anadromous fish habitat and a
periodic review of existing dams to determine if they should be
relicensed or torn down. The coalition wants an end to barging fish
around dams, more water released through dam spillways to keep fish
from deadly turbines, and reservoirs drawn down to speed the
current taking fish to the ocean. The coalition estimates these
measures will create restoration jobs and cost the average customer
of hydroelectricity no more than an extra $1.50 per month. Since
the salmon industry supported 60,000 jobs in 1988, and generated $1
billion, the report says the Northwest can't afford not to fully
revive the salmon runs of the past. The coalition received funding
from several charitable trusts and foundations, and includes a wide
variety of groups from the Federation of Fly Fishers to the Alaska
Trollers Association and the Pacific Rivers Council. For a free
copy of Wild Salmon Forever call
800/767-7256.